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Statue of St Cuthbert on Holy Island
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The Irish mission to Northumbria |
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Consolidation and expansion
One of the keys to the success of the Irish mission was the foundation of monastic communities where a Christian witness could be maintained, and where the next generation of English Christians could be trained. Aidan and all his helpers were monks; their main focus was the monastery of Lindisfarne. This was on the same site as the later priory and parish church, but because the Irish built in wood, their buildings have not survived. The monastery provided a permanent centre of operations, a base for preachers to go out from and return to.
View from Holy Island |
Presumably, as on Iona, the monks would have supported themselves by farming. They must also have established a school for teaching the 12 English boys whom Aidan began training right from the start. Religion and study were closely linked: monks needed to be able to read, and they needed to know Latin, so that they could read the Bible in Latin. Literacy unlocked for them the writings of the Christian Fathers and the culture of the Roman world. Although the Irish were avant-garde in writing down texts in their vernacular language, church services continued to be in Latin. The English would have gained their first acquaintance with Latin through learning the psalms by heart.
In time other monasteries were established, like Melrose (which may even have been taken over from the British). "Double monasteries" under an abbess were also founded for both women and men at Hartlepool, and at Whitby in Deira.
Words: Dr Clare Stancliffe
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